Endometriosis

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Endometriosis is a disease in which tissue that normally grows inside the uterus grows outside it. The main symptoms are pelvic pain and infertility. Nearly half of those affected have chronic pelvic pain, while in 70% pain occurs during menstruation. Pain with sex is also common. Infertility occurs in up to half of women affected. Less common symptoms include urinary or bowel symptoms. About 25% of women have no symptoms. Endometriosis can have both social and psychological effects.

The common signs and symptoms are: Pelvic pain, Infertility, Other. Symptoms of endometriosis-related to pelvic pain may include:

• dysmenorrhea – painful, sometimes disabling cramps during the menstrual period; pain may get worse over time (progressive pain), also lower back pains linked to the pelvis

• dysuria – urinary urgency, frequency, and sometimes painful voiding Throbbing, gnawing, and dragging pain to the legs are reported more commonly by women with endometriosis.

Endometriosis was first determined to be a separate condition in the 1920s. Before that time endometriosis and adenomyosis were considered together. It is unclear who first described the disease. Endometriosis can affect any female, from premenarche to postmenopause, regardless of race or ethnicity or whether or not they have had children. It is primarily a disease of the reproductive years. The number of women affected is between 6–10%. It is more common in women with infertility and chronic pelvic pain (35–50%).

Compared with women with superficial endometriosis, those with deep disease appear to be more likely to report shooting rectal pain and a sense of their insides being pulled down. Endometriosis is estimated to occur in roughly 6–10% of women. It is most common in those in their thirties and forties. It results in few deaths with this being estimated at 200 globally in 2013.